Late season ski trip to Wengen/Grindelwald for a total beginner?
 

On 20/02/2014 21:28, Rod wrote:
Hoping some of the few remaining resident gurus here could give a bit
of advice...

I'm thinking of whether a late season trip to Wengen or Grindelwald
with a total ski novice is a viable idea. Now I know the local ski
areas in both locations is closed by then, but as far as I can tell
the Kleine Scheidegg area is open to the 22 April, assuming the snow
lasts.

I've read suggestions that the nusery area at Klein Scheidegg is OK.
However although I have skiied in the area a few years ago I have no
recollection of whats its like for beginners - and obviously its still
not that high for mid-April.

Would I be better off discounting this area and either looking for
somewhere a bit higher or postponing to next season (though my
companion has pretty restrictive holiday options)? I was thinking
that at least the area is pretty for a first time skiier (I'm not that
bothered by how much skiing there is for me - more concerned I dont
put off a somewhat hesitant beginner with an unpleasant experience).

Thanks

Rod


The Trockener Steg/ Theodulus pass area at Zermatt may well be open late
as it is mostly a glacier.

--
Michael Chare

Late season ski trip to Wengen/Grindelwald for a total beginner?
 

On Sat, 22 Feb 2014 12:12:22 +0000, Michael Chare
mUNDERSCOREnews@chareDOTorgDOTuk wrote:

The Trockener Steg/ Theodulus pass area at Zermatt may well be open late
as it is mostly a glacier.

Actually, though Zermatt isn't really a beginner's resort, I'd say that area
is not bad for raw beginners if they stick to the draglift area, and there's
the area above Riffleberg for progression, though I definitely would not
recommend skiing down to it from Gornegrat. Having said that, it's a long ride
from the village to get there, and a long ride down if they're not up to the
tracks down, whereas somewhere like Flaine or, as someone said, and probably
better, Val Thorens, has good beginner areas that are vastly more convenient
to get to.

Not sure what Flaine's late-season snow is like, but it's supposed to hold it
well when it gets its cover.
--

Pip

Late season ski trip to Wengen/Grindelwald for a total beginner?
 

On Sat, 22 Feb 2014 16:36:28 +0000, PipL wrote:

On Sat, 22 Feb 2014 12:12:22 +0000, Michael Chare
mUNDERSCOREnews@chareDOTorgDOTuk wrote:

The Trockener Steg/ Theodulus pass area at Zermatt may well be open late
as it is mostly a glacier.

Actually, though Zermatt isn't really a beginner's resort, I'd say that area
is not bad for raw beginners if they stick to the draglift area, and there's
the area above Riffleberg for progression, though I definitely would not
recommend skiing down to it from Gornegrat. Having said that, it's a long ride
from the village to get there, and a long ride down if they're not up to the
tracks down, whereas somewhere like Flaine or, as someone said, and probably
better, Val Thorens, has good beginner areas that are vastly more convenient
to get to.

Not sure what Flaine's late-season snow is like, but it's supposed to hold it
well when it gets its cover.

Yes, Colin suggested Flaine would probably be a safer/more sensible
bet - or as Michael says above, Val Thorens probably better still.
Never actually skiied in either place so its hard to judge, but harder
still to argue with their sensibe advice.

I had considered Zermatt - but the hassle for a beginner to get to the
top made me discount it.

As it stands, I think we are drifting towards leaving it till next
season. Teachers may have long summer holidays, but at least in
Scotland, their winter ski options are pretty limited by their fixed
holiday periods - which either fall into "bit early for comfort", "bit
late for decent snow" or "to short a time for a beginner to get the
chance of a decent run at it"....

But thanks for the advice and suggestions.

Rod